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Our sails caught the wind, and we lurched forward as Milo adjusted the Falcon slightly off course. I gripped the side of the ship, digging my fingertips into the wood grain to steady myself as our ship veered and tilted with the sudden direction change. McKenzie let out a small shriek from her perch up in the crow’s nest.
When the boat settled just long enough to stand upright, I made a dash for the rigging, where I began to climb up the ropes to join McKenzie. I couldn’t let her get tossed around like a rag doll up there alone. The thick ropes felt like dead bones in my hands, heavy, damp, and cold, despite the bright sun overhead. I hardly noticed the thick, humid heat as the wind from so high up here whipped my skin dry. With one glance down below, my stomach flipped upside down.
I clenched my eyes shut for a second, just to shake away the sick feeling, and pushed myself upward, climbing the network of ropes to the crow’s nest. From there, I could see Thane’s crew clearly enough that I had to squint from the white sunlight glinting off their swords.
A barrage of threats and roars rose from the crew as they realized what Milo was doing. He maneuvered the ship forward for just a bit, only to make a sharp turn that they hadn’t been expecting, and now he was sailing back in and around them. Their ship was small, but ours was smaller and faster.
As the Falcon curled around over and across the waves like a startled swordfish, Thane’s men followed close behind, but they couldn’t match the speed of our turns.
I watched Thane at the wheel of his ship. Once he figured it out, he began to turn his vessel as though he was going to continue the chase, but at the last minute, sped right past ours, only to order his men to close the sails and drop their anchor, swinging his ship around, nearly tipping it. It swung around like a colossal, slow-moving pendulum, and though Milo had caught onto Thane’s plan by now, it was impossible for him to get our boat out of the way in time.
The bow of Thane’s ship whipped around, colliding into the back half of ours. The force of the blow nearly launched McKenzie and me from our post, rocking the ship side to side. We huddled in the cramped floor of the crow’s nest to keep from flying out. The sound of crisp wood snapping as the ships crashed together sent a panic through my bones. They had us now.
I wondered how detrimental the damage to our ship would be. Judging by the concerned expression on Milo’s face from below, it was worse than I thought. We were left afloat, still slowly swirling on the surface as the rioting water settled. Within seconds, our two vessels ended up parallel, facing opposite directions. I glanced out at sea, praying the approaching Spanish frigate would speed up at the sight of the chaos. It was closer now, but there were still minutes-worth of distance between us and them.
Thane wasted no time giving the orders to his men to take our ship. By the looks of it, his crew was made up of hardly more than ten, but it was still more manpower than we had. From their deck launched grappling ropes, taking root into our hull. I watched the scene unfold before me with trembling nerves and a hand over my pistol. McKenzie peeked over the crow’s nest, a white-knuckle grip on the gun in her hands. And together we took our best aim as Thane’s crew pulled our ship to theirs like a needle closing a stitch together.
A barrage of shouts and stomps filled the air as the stinging scent of gunpowder crawled to my nostrils. I couldn’t breathe, partly from the smoke tickling my lungs, but more so because my chest was tightening at the thought of Milo and Noah below facing so many attackers at once.
Half a dozen pirates swung from the rigging, leaping down with foreboding thuds as their heavy boots hit the deck. Milo fought with two swords, wielding a cutlass in each hand as he fended off the men approaching him from every side. But I knew he couldn’t manage that for long. I fired my pistol with the best aim I could manage, alerting the crew to our presence. But at least I hit my target. The man gripped his shoulder where the bullet struck, and Milo used the distraction as a chance to shove him over the edge of the ship with the broad side of his sword.
“Noah, watch out!” McKenzie screamed. Noah whipped around just in time to find himself face to face with a charging crewman. He stumbled back as he met the man’s sword blow with his own blade, using barely enough force to deflect the hit. If he was terrified—and I knew he had to be—he didn’t show it.
I noticed Thane making his way through the fray. Slowly and steadily, he was locked on to Milo. He walked without urgency across the deck, following Milo’s lead to the back of the ship. At least the plan was working so far. But I wouldn’t risk him getting too close. I fired at him, but missed, instead drawing his attention upward as my gunfire whizzed right past his head. He stopped, turning around with the same calmness with which he walked before flashing a cold grin my way.
I thought he’d come for me. I thought I’d blown the plan, and if so, I wouldn’t have cared. Because if Milo thought I could fire a cannon blast at him just to kill Thane, he was wrong. The pirate hunter frigate was closing in. So, I thought if I could just hold him off a little longer…
But Thane didn’t come for me. He just winked at me with a wicked, sick smile curling across his lips and pulled out his sword. Even from here, I could see that it was stained with old, dried blood. He brought the blade to his face and, without taking his eyes off me, licked the crusted blood from the edge. It took everything in me not to gag at the sight. Then he turned around, bloody sword in his grip, and began walking toward Milo again. I cursed beneath my breath and fired again, this time aiming for the pirates attacking Noah and Milo, who now stood nearly back-to-back, their faces wrought with focus and exhaustion as their blades whirled.
“What was that you were saying about not going down without a fight?” I turned to McKenzie. “They can’t do this by themselves. And these guns suck at long range. I’m going down there.”
She grabbed my arm, nearly pulling me back as I crouched down to begin my descent down the rigging. I thought she was going to beg me not to go or tell me why it was a horrible idea. But instead, she looked me dead in the eyes and said, “I’m coming with you.”
Together we shimmied down the ropes as quickly as possible, but the awkward boots and breeches offered little in the way of flexibility and movement. About halfway down, I glanced over my shoulder below. Both bloodied, our two men were losing ground. Milo’s shirt was ripped in many places, and bright red blooms of blood decorated the fabric like a floral print. Noah was in no better shape.
I raised my gun to shoot from where I hung in the rigging. But as my finger pulled back on the trigger, an unforgiving resistance blocked my movement.
“It’s jammed,” I said, turning the pistol over in my hand to inspect it as if I knew what to do with it. “McKenzie, shoot them!” I cried.
My normally bold and boisterous roommate was anything but in that moment. Clinging to the ropes right beside me, she looked like she might cry as the wind scattered her orange hair every which way around her. She hesitated, fidgeting with the weapon in her hands.
“What if I miss?” She stammered.
“Don’t think about that. They need our help!”
She grimaced, placing the pistol in her palm and aiming for the group of men fighting Noah. I could see the gun shaking in her pale grip.
“I’m going to hit Noah. I…I can’t do it.” Her words were peppered with strains and held back tears. Just as I was about to respond with some attempt at something motivational, the sound of swords clanging below died down.
My grip on the rigging strengthened, my hands curling around the rope so tightly I thought it might burn my palms as I directed my attention to the scene unfolding on deck. Noah had been disarmed, and a pirate held him pinned to the deck with a firm boot on his chest and a sword beneath his chin. The men ceased their battle momentarily as they waited for Thane to direct their next move.
Thane stood to speak, his penny-bronze hair framing his striking features. A sharp jawline, crooked nose, and piercing eyes full of bloodlust. He walked to Noah, his steps taunting as a dark smile stretched across his face.
“Kill the friends first. Make him watch.” He pointed to Milo with the tip of his sword. “And take your time.”
Just then, our ship teetered in a sudden wake, sending McKenzie and me tumbling from the rigging and slamming onto the deck below. Smoke billowed into the air, fresh from the side of Thane’s ship. Cannon fire. But not from the Spanish frigate. That ship was nearly upon us, and was moving in from the east, but the cannon shot hadn’t come from that direction. It came from behind.
I leapt to my feet to see the origin of the shot. My jaw dropped at the sight of the Widow reeling toward us, with Bellamy at the helm.
